Research Reports - Predictors of quality of life after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury

Objective To verify correlations between age, injury severity, length of stay
(LOS), cognition, functional capacity and quality of life (QOL) six months after
hospital discharge (HD) of victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Method 50
patients consecutively treated in a Brazilian emergency hospital were assessed at
admission, HD and six months after HD. The assessment protocol consisted in
Abbreviated Injury Scale, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS),
Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Mini Mental Test, Barthel Index and World Health
Organization QOL - Brief. Results Strong negative correlation was observed
between LOS and GCS and LOS and RTS. An almost maximal correlation was found
between RTS and GCS and functional capacity and GCS at HD. Age and LOS were
considered independent predictors of QOL. Conclusion Age and LOS are independent
predictors of QOL after moderate to severe TBI.